Public apathy but media gets excited

The press went into overdrive when Tony Blair announced 05/05/05 as the date for a general election, but the British people were underwhelmed. Dave Sambrook reports

Even if the rest of Britain isn't that excited by the prospect of a general election on May 5, at least the media are. Political hacks all over the country spent last weekend preparing for the inevitable announcement fromTony Blair.

Even the 24hour delay out of respect for the death of Pope John Paul II couldn't dampen their enthusiasm. On Tuesday morning, they gathered in Downing Street to await Blair's return from Buckingham ...